Monster Talk

Book excerpt: Two hundred and sixty-four years after the first awakening, the family line stops momentarily, perhaps forever, in the body of a child. Victor is a second-grader growing up with a very unique family history: he is a direct descendant of the monster created by his namesake, Victor Frankenstein. Understandably proud of this distinction, his effort to share this remarkable fact with his classmates and teachers backfires, and he becomes a target on the playground. He is not without allies. With the help of his grandmother, Elizabeth, and his best friend, Michelle, he learns the origin of his familys strange history straight from Mary Shelleys Frankenstein. He learns how that story continued with the surprising journey of the monster and his monster-bride to America. And finally, he learns about the end of making monsters on earth. But there are elements in this history about which even those closest to it are unaware. Wonders abound and dangers lurk for Victor and his loved ones in unexpected places. Monster Talk is a poignant tale about the power of reading, the complexity of love, the wonder and terror of growing up, and the moral ambiguity of the species, human and monster both.